The Auditor General has flagged irregular payments of rent and office expenses by the Machakos County Assembly in the 2022/2023 Financial year audit report.
“A review of the payment records revealed that an amount of Kshs.93,000 was incurred on payments of ward rent for 5 ward offices. However, it was observed that the lease agreements between the County Assembly and the landlords had expired approximately 3 months before the end of the financial year and had not been renewed. In the circumstances, the accuracy and completeness of the ward rent of Kshs.15,157,500 could not be confirmed.” Part of the report reads.
According to the report the County Assembly expended 1.1 Billion against an approved budget of 1.5 Billion resulting in an under-expenditure of 376 million or 25% of the budget.
The Auditor notes that pending bills balance of 66.5 Million has been outstanding for more than one year with some dating back to August 2018. Management did not explain the reasons for failure to settle the long-outstanding amounts as they ought to form the first charge in the subsequent period.
5.2 Million was paid to the Society of Clerks at the Table (SOCATT) and the County Assemblies Forum as annual subscription fees. However, the 2 entities are not intergovernmental relations in a legal capacity, and the payments were not
budgeted for under the National Government’s estimates. In the circumstances, Management was in breach of the law.
The delayed construction of Assembly chambers and ward offices was also flagged by the Auditor. “The project commenced on 9 June 2020 and was set to be completed on 6 June 2022. According to the latest progress report dated May 2023, the overall
progress of work amounted to Kshs.121,419,123 representing 35%, while the payments
amounted to Kshs.116,045,041 or 33%. The completion date was extended to 19
December 2022 which has since lapsed and no further extensions have been approved
to date but the project was incomplete at the time of the audit in December 2023.”
Missed our earlier story on queries raised by the Auditor General on Machakos County Executive? check it out below;
